Our Own Perfect
by Tarnished Soul
Summary: Life is hard. We all have secrets and fears. We all face hardships. But there's a bittersweet beauty to it. It's that even at our lowest points, we don't forget those we love. We still take care of one another. We're still kind. Compassion is what makes us human. Life isn't easy. Ours, to many, is far from perfect. But it's our own kind of perfect. I wouldn't trade it for anything.


**Content warning** **: Many reoccurring things featured throughout this story might make some readers uncomfortable, such as homosexuality, homophobia and vulgar humor. If any of these things are upsetting to you, read with caution.**

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 **Chapter 1. Apparently, Tomatoes Are Fruit.**

 **(Miku's POV)**

I rushed to the kitchen and gently closed the door behind me before I took a deep breath, looking at the floor, awkwardly shifting my feet. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my white hoodie. Like always, I'm a coward, running from my problems, as non-confrontational as could be…

"Miku? The hell are you doing in here?" An agitated voice hissed at me from the other side of the pale yellow kitchen, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see a certain girl with red twin drills, some rock band t-shirt and purple rabbit pajama pants, crossing her arms, standing in front of the silver stove. Her red eyes practically burned holes into me.

"… First I wanna know how you got in here," I replied with a grin, hoping to change the subject, which seemed to work.

"I just let myself in through the back door," she replied with a smirk as she lifted herself to sit on the nearby counter. "I haven't been here long, I just wanted to see how it was going." Teto has been my best friend since we were kids, she's family at this point. In recent years, my parents haven't been too keen on her decisions and actions, and I've often taken it upon myself to keep her in line… Regardless, everyone in the family loves her, and she passes through the house on regular basis. "But Miku… Did something happen?" She asked curiously. "This isn't really like you." She added. "You're not all happy and shit, you seem upset." Teto has seen me at my best and worst moments, she can read me too well, not to mention she's an extremely persistent person. "Plus you avoided my question," she added in a snappy tone, which made me pout a little. I was really hoping she wouldn't notice, but at that point I knew I wouldn't be able to beat around the bush. "You only get like this when something's wrong…" She looked really concerned at this point. "Oh, Miku, don't tell me you got reject-"

"I didn't," I interrupted, not even wanting to think about the possibility. "I… Didn't even say anything," I sighed. "I got too scared. I told her I was going to call my mom to ask when she was coming home just so I could come back here to clear my mind… Then you showed up and foiled my plans," I added jokingly. That elicited a silly grin from Teto as she slid off the counter.

"It's normal to be scared when trying to confess your feelings to somebody," she began as she approached me, clearly trying to comfort me. "Especially when-"

"When you're confessing to another girl?" I interrupted. She gave a disapproving look. "Tet, don't sugarcoat this, it's not… Normal," I mumbled the last part. This got an angry sigh from Teto. Not only does she hate being called Tet, but she didn't like me being down on myself about anything, from doubts about my skills to being insecure about my sexuality. I'm… Not entirely straight, which would be hard for most people at school to believe since I've had a lot of relationships with guys, but Teto has known since the seventh grade. And we're juniors now, yet I've still never told anybody else.

"I was actually going to say 'especially when you've had these feelings for so long' but okay," she replied in a sarcastic, monotone voice. "How many years has it been since this started? Six?" I didn't answer, and Teto put her hands on her hips. "Miku, hardly anyone hates gays these days, you shouldn't be so scared."

"That's not true and you know it," I retorted. "My grandparents, remember? Not to mention, my dad… I don't know if you ever knew, but he really doesn't like gay people." Teto's eyes widened when she heard that. I guess she'd never heard him say anything about it before... "You should've seen his reaction when gay marriage was legalized," I added as I grabbed a lock of my hair and held it under my nose like a mustache. "'It's a shame that kids are going to think this is okay now,'" I said, trying to mimic his voice, letting the lock of hair go as Teto chuckled lightly. "He and my mom even got in arguments more than once when I was younger because my mom didn't let him tell us that being gay was wrong when we were growing up... Teto, if he finds out I could lose my father…" a look of concentration spread across her face.

"I… Never knew your dad felt that way," Teto said after a few seconds of silence. "It certainly complicates things, but who said he had to know? Hell, does _anyone_ need to know, really?" She asked. She had a point. I never intended to let anyone else know... But the chances of him finding out on his own were very real, and I wasn't sure I wanted to take the chance. "And I don't care what his opinions are, no loving parent would resent their kid for who they are," she continued, crossing her arms. "I'd lose all respect for the man, if that's how he'd treat his own daughter." Teto loved my family as much as they loved her, so this was a surprising thing to hear her say with so much confidence. "Now uh… Don't you think you've been gone a bit too long for someone who's just calling her mom?"

"Eheh…," I laughed nervously, tugging at the collar of my hoodie. "I'll make something up when I get back in the living room." Teto didn't seem convinced.

"Luka probably already knows something's up by now. She's not _that_ dense, ya know." Luka is another long-time friend of ours. And… My crush of six years. Luka has always been a great friend to me, very loyal, funny, kindhearted, and really beautiful on top of that… So it's no wonder I feel the way I do about her. She came over tonight so we could work on our songwriting project for school. Teto claimed it was an opportunity to confess, which I thought seemed like a good idea at the time, but when faced with the situation for real, it suddenly seemed like a really bad idea.

"I know," I sighed. Teto only found out about this secret of mine in middle school because I scribbled Luka's name inside hearts on some notes I let her borrow... Honestly, I can't think of a more embarrassing way to come out to someone. But ever since then, she never let me hear the end of it. She wants me to confess to her, but I don't think she realizes how hard it really is… How much is at stake. My home life, my reputation, my future… "I don't think I can tell her." Teto's eyes widened as an angry expression spread across her face.

"And why not? You said you'd do it tonight! What happened to 'I can't keep this to myself anymore'?" She demanded as she threw her arms in the air. "For fuck's sake, Luka's been openly lesbian for three years now, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You don't understand how scary it is when you actually have to do it, though!" I cried. Teto lunged forward and quickly covered my mouth as I realized I just yelled that. She removed her hand. "If Luka didn't assume something was up before, she probably does now…," I mumbled. Teto closed her eyes and sighed.

"Miku, look…" she slowly began, her eyes opening to meet my own. "For the past four years, I've listened to you gush, vent and cry, all over the same person. And honestly…," she put her hands on my shoulders, her expression changing from one of annoyance to one of… Sadness? Empathy? Pain? All three? "I'm tired of seeing my best friend suffer." She gently shook my shoulders and continued. "Miku, you need to take more chances. One day you'll regret not saying anything. One day it'll be too late, she'll find someone, and you'll never know if she ever felt the same. You'll feel so much better when you get this weight off your chest," she let my shoulders go. "Worst case scenario, she doesn't feel the same way. But she's been your friend for so long. She won't hold it against you, you won't lose her as a friend. She's not unreasonable." A few seconds of silence passed as I looked to the ground. "And best case scenario… She gives you a chance." I glanced up at her and she smiled gently at me, brushing some hair out of my face. "Not trying to give you false hope or anything, but you're like a sister to me. And dammit, I want my sister to be happy." Teto doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve, so hearing that… That really hit me deep. I could even feel my eyes tearing up.

"… You're right," I looked up at her as I wiped my teary eyes. "I shouldn't have been such a coward about it… I know I need to take more chances-" Teto interrupted me by pulling me into a tight hug.

"Shh… Just take a second to relax." For as harsh as Teto can be at times, she has a very big heart. She always knows what to say and do when people need her. I hugged her back and enjoyed the few seconds of silence. "So…" she let go of me, "you gonna get back out there? It's been nearly ten minutes, I'm surprised Luka didn't come in when you screamed."

"Y-yeah, I'm gonna go… I'll try to tell her," I stated, standing up a bit straighter as I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes. "… You can't tell I was crying, right?"

"Nah, you look fine. Now if you were sobbing relentlessly that'd be a different story," she teased. "Now…" she grinned as she started pushing me towards the door. "Go get ya girl!"

"Okay, okay I'm going!" I giggled, nearly getting shoved face-first into the door. I turned my head to look at her. "… You'll stay here, right?"

"What kind of moral support would I be if I didn't?" Teto let go of my shoulders as she walked towards the wall by the door, stopping in front of the pass through window, slightly cracking open its shutters. "I'll keep watch through here," she said, lowering her voice. "Now hurry up! If I was your partner for this shit I'd have gone home already."

"Good thing I chose to work with Luka, then," I replied as I stuck my tongue out at her. "… Thanks for your help. I feel better now," I said as I grabbed the doorknob.

"Hey, what are friends for?" She replied, beaming. She was right, though. We had been wasting too much time. So with my newfound confidence, I slowly turned the doorknob and exited the kitchen… And after that, said newfound confidence left my body as I saw a certain girl with long, pink hair look up at me from where she was sitting on the white couch. I was paralyzed the second her dark blue eyes met my own.

"Oh, hey Miku. I didn't think of any lyrics, but I wrote down some ideas on what the song should be about." Luka, Teto, myself and all of our friends were part of our school's music program. Our school focuses pretty heavily on the arts, the music program being the main focus. We often wrote our own songs, and sometimes students would be selected to perform for school events. It was pretty fun, but a lot of hard work.

"Oh, that's okay," I replied, "I'm sure you came up with some good ideas". To be honest, I'm not the best songwriter myself. I rarely feel like my ideas are good enough, and the requirements for this project weren't making me feel any better.

"I thought I heard you scream a couple minutes ago, are you okay?" Luka asked as she set her pale pink notebook on the wooden coffee table in front of her. ' _Super_ ,' I thought to myself. I was hoping that I wasn't as loud as I'd thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I replied with a nervous laugh as I approached the couch. "I just… Hit my elbow on the counter, that's all," I explained as I took a seat next to her. That was obviously a lie. I don't like lying to people, but explaining what just happened with Teto didn't seem like a very good idea, at least not at the moment. I reached for Luka's notebook to see what she'd come up with, but stopped instantly when I heard what she said next.

"Want me to kiss it better for you?" I immediately jumped and turned to look at her.

"W-what?!" I stammered as I felt my face getting hot. For a moment I felt panicked. Maybe she heard what Teto and I were talking about… But then she started to laugh…

"I was only kidding!" She exclaimed, still giggling. Luka's laugh is so cute… I couldn't help but smile a little. Luka was usually the serious, reserved type, but for whatever reason, she liked to tease me every now and then like that. Not that I mind… It always gave me hope, actually. I thought maybe she was trying to flirt with me sometimes because of it. She reached over and ruffled my hair. "It's funny watching you get all flustered like that."

"It's mean!" I snapped as I pouted.

"How so?"

"It just is!" My reaction only made Luka laugh more. I could feel my face getting hotter.

"Your face is so red!"

"N-no it's not!" She really can't see what she's doing to me…

"You look like a tomato," she chuckled, still laughing for a few seconds before trying to compose herself.

"I don't! I'm a person, not a vegetable." I crossed my arms. This made her start giggling again.

"Tomatoes are a fruit, Miku." Well, you learn something new every day, I guess...

"I-I'm not a fruit, you are!" That one made Luka howl with laughter. Maybe I should've thought that one through…

"That's what they call gay guys!" She playfully nudged my shoulder. "It's actually kind of offensive too…" Yep, definitely should've thought that one through. "But we can brush up on Gay Etymology 101 some other time." She ruffled my hair as she took her notebook from the coffee table. For as embarrassing as it is when she gets all teasing like that, it's nice to see her loosen up and enjoy herself. It's not a side of her that most people get to see. In fact, I'm probably the only person who gets to see Luka act so playful and happy so often. I feel lucky because of that… "We should get back to work for now," she stated as she opened the notebook to a certain page and handed it to me. This notebook was a source of pride for Luka; she had a real passion for songwriting. Despite the sense of pride, she rarely let anyone look at its contents. In fact, the only person other than me who was ever allowed to read it was her best friend, Meiko. I took it and read what she wrote on the page.

"So you want our song to be about…," I looked closer at the page in confusion. "Aliens, murder or… Zombies?" I looked up at her. "That doesn't sound…"

"I know they're stupid," she sighed as I gave the notebook back. "But Al said it should be a topic that's both scary yet intriguing. Those things are pretty scary but fascinating," she said, placing the notebook on her lap as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "You know, in a morbid way." Al is our music teacher, he often assigns us challenging prompts like these to keep people from reusing the same ideas for their songs. "But you can add any of your own ideas to the list, it doesn't have to be any of these," she added as she traced over the white embroidery on the cover of her notebook with her finger. I thought about it for a second. In a way it was kind of ironic; to me, this situation matched up perfectly with the prompt… Everything Teto said started flooding back.

" _Miku_ , _you need to take more chances. One day you'll regret not saying anything…_ "

"Actually, Luka…," I started. She glanced at me curiously. "I uh… I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh, sure. What's on your mind?" She asked. I… Honestly wasn't sure what I was going to say next. Leave it to me to not think things through. Over Luka's shoulder, I saw the door to the pass through open slightly more to reveal Teto, who nodded in approval. I cleared my throat.

"There's been something I've been meaning to tell you for a while," I began nervously.

"I'm listening. You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I'm fine," I assured her. ' _You're_ _fine_ '. The thought of saying that nearly made me giggle. It was true, especially in that moment. I guess Luka's the only person who can manage to look amazing in a grey sweater and black sweatpants. "It's just… Well… It's funny because of what we were talking about before. I'm… Pretty sure that I'm biiiii… sexual." I kinda drew out the last part of that. I couldn't help it, I was having second thoughts! But I knew it was too late to back out now. You don't just back out of finishing a sentence like that. But when I finally said it, her eyes widened.

"I never would've thought you were. I'm… Really surprised," she responded. "How long have you known?" There was an odd sort of glimmer in her eyes…

"Ahh, about… Six years I believe."

"Why didn't you tell me until now? Were you afraid of what I'd think?" Luka seemed a little excited about it. I guess that makes sense. Our other friends were, well, as straight as boards. And forget about meeting others like her. Luka rarely gets out to do anything but go to school or work. She's not the most social person in the world, so finding out that someone close to her is like her is probably a relief on some level…

"Yeah… I was afraid of what everyone would think." Which was true. Who knows what everyone else would've thought? Maybe Teto would be fine with it, but what about Kaito? He's liked me for years, he'd probably get all upset and think I'm just gay. Meiko, on the other hand, has been joking about every girl in our group going gay for Luka ever since she first came out, so the 'Luka's harem' jokes would just get worse, and I don't want that! And Len, who knows what he'd think. He'd either think our past relationship turned me gay, or assume I'd be okay with threeso-

"Miku…" She snapped me out of my thoughts as she gave me a sympathetic look, placing her hand on my shoulder. "This never would've changed my opinion of you, or anyone else's. You're a sweet girl. The fact that you swing both ways doesn't change that. People love you for you, not what you're into," she concluded with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Luka…" She was kind of like the group mom, always giving us advice and support when we needed it. And I have to admit that she never failed to calm me when I needed it. But over her shoulder, I saw Teto yet again, motioning to Luka in anticipation. I was too freaked out over coming out that I never actually confessed. Of course… "But there was something else," I quickly added.

"And what's that?" She glanced up at me, setting the notebook down.

"Well…," ' _time_ _to_ really _be_ _brave_ '. I cleared my throat and sat up a little straighter. "Ever since I knew, I knew that I…," I tugged at the collar of my hoodie. For a second I thought maybe if I said it as quickly as I could, it wouldn't be so bad. "... Luka, I really like you." Her eyes widened once again, and I could feel my face growing hot again as I looked down at my feet. Saying it quickly didn't help... She put the notebook down. The silence was kind of scary. I had no idea what she'd say next, and each second felt like an hour.

"I… I'm speechless, really," I looked up at her as she began to speak. "I don't really know what to say…" She was blushing now, too. "But… I like you, too, Miku." Now that, I never expected to hear her say.

"Wait. You… What?"

"I said I like you too," she repeated, fidgeting a little as her face turned even redder. "I have for a while. Probably even longer than you liked me, actually. But I thought you were straight, so I never said anything," she shrugged. "I guess all these years I was worrying over nothing, though," she added with an awkward laugh.

"Wait… So what would've happened if I just came out earlier?"

"I would've probably asked you out by now," she replied.

"… Well now I feel stupid!" She giggled at that, and I couldn't help but giggle, too. "Well… I'd have probably kept it secret anyways…" I thought out loud. Luka nodded.

"I don't blame you for keeping it to yourself, given how your grandparents are," Luka replied. "If mine were that way, I wouldn't have said anything. either. My entire family has always been supportive, so I can't really imagine what it must be like…" she seemed somewhat sad thinking about it. "How does it make you feel, Miku? Their thoughts on it, I mean."

"Well…," I thought for a moment. It was a pretty tough question to answer. "It wasn't really something I thought about a lot till these last few years. I thought my feelings would just go away with time, but I guess I was wrong about that," I began, smiling a little. From the corner of my eye, at the beginning of the hallway by the kitchen door, I saw a framed family picture, and the smile vanished. It was taken maybe two summers ago. Mikuo, my older brother, had just graduated high school. He was taller than me, and our only similarity was our hair color. My little sister, Mika, was only about 6 at the time, but even so she still looked just like I did at her age. We both took after our mother, except for our hair color. My mother was just behind us. A short woman, with lilac hair. We were with my grandparents and a few cousins. Everyone seemed so happy together… "But the more I thought about it, I realized it was kind of lonely. You know?" I looked to my feet. "You're surrounded by people who claim they'll always love you no matter what. But they prove it's not really true just by the things they say…" I sighed before continuing. "I've heard my dad say things like 'I don't want my kids to think it's just okay to be that way', and the older I got…," I glanced back at that family picture. My father was standing next to my mother, behind me and my siblings, with his right hand on my right shoulder. A taller, older man, with a teal, greying mustache, and a joyful smile. I could only imagine what he'd think of me if he knew the truth… I could feel my eyes tearing up, yet again. "… Those words just started cutting deeper, I guess." I felt my voice crack. I closed my eyes, but the second I did, I felt a tight embrace.

"God, Miku… I'm sorry," Luka sputtered apologetically as she rubbed my back. "I should've known that'd be a touchy subject-"

"No, i-it's fine," I reassured her, tightly hugging her back. "I should be able to talk about these things, I w-was just being a little bit sensitive," I added as I wiped a tear from my eye. Behind Luka, I saw that the kitchen light, which was on before, was now off. Teto must've left to give us some privacy, which was for the best. I didn't want her to see me cry like that, she'd have probably tried to fight my dad or something...

"It's a totally normal reaction," Luka replied as she gently stroked my hair. "I mean, you only just came out, you still have plenty of fresh wounds. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"It's okay, really…," I replied softly as she rubbed my back. "You just wanted to know, that's fine." I let her hold me like that for a while as I cried. It was really nice, being comforted by her, after being so honest with her about things that I've wanted to say to her for so long. Even though my fears were real, and painful, and scary… I was still happy because of that. But that made me curious about something… After I calmed down a little, I cleared my throat. "Hey, Luka…?"

"Hm?" She started running her fingers through one of my twintails, which was really comforting.

"Are we gonna be… You know…"

"Girlfriends?" She asked.

"Yeah, that," I replied awkwardly. It was as if Luka read my mind… And honestly, it was kind of embarrassing to even say the word myself. Less than 20 minutes ago, I was scared out of my mind of the idea of telling her how I felt, yet here we were, the feeling was mutual and we were thinking of being together. Everything happened so fast, I could barely keep up in the moment.

"I'd hope so. It wouldn't make sense if we didn't get together after confessing," she replied. I agreed. I mean, I wouldn't want to have gone through all this stress and learned the truth just to act like it never happened...

"Then, I'd really love to be your girlfriend, Luka!" I beamed as I pushed her onto her back, causing her to squeak a little as I snuggled up to her.

"I'd love that too," she blushed as she held me in her arms. We stayed like that for a couple minutes before she broke the silence. "But… We should get back to our assignment."

"Oh, you're right!" I quickly sat up as Luka grabbed her notebook. As she sat up, I leaned against her. "Maybe we should start by looking at stuff we wrote before," I suggested. "It could help us think of new ideas."

"Maybe you're right," she smiled as she put her arm around me and opened her notebook to the third page. "Let's see… This was the first song I wrote freshman year…"

And we were inseparable ever since.

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 **A/N: And so ends chapter one! Quite an experience for me, as I've not written anything like this in years. I hope you liked how I portrayed the characters! I have a lot of headcanons for all my favorite Vocaloid, UTAU and fanloid characters that you'll probably catch onto as the story continues. Let me know what you think of my writing! Leave a review, I read everything I get. Stay tuned for chapter 2~**


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